Arafat 'is outlaw to peace process'

The Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry, says he no longer considers the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, to be a statesman, but rather "an outlaw to the peace process" in the Middle East who has been rightly shuffled aside.

In a 1997 book, Mr Kerry described "Arafat's transformation from outlaw to statesman".

But in an interview with the Associated Press, he said he no longer viewed Arafat favourably. "Obviously, Yasser Arafat has been an impediment to the peace process," said Mr Kerry.

"He missed a historic oppor tunity and he's proved himself to be irrelevant."

Mr Kerry visited a coffee shop yesterday in a Cuban-American neighbourhood in Tampa, Florida, before flying to Chicago for campaign appearances. He was awaiting results in four southern states - Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas - with delegate elections.

Mr Kerry said Mr Arafat "blew his opportunity" to be effective in 1999 and 2000. "He was [a statesman] in 1995," Mr Kerry said, recalling meetings between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in search of peace in the Middle East. "As far as I'm concerned, he's an outlaw to the peace process."

President George Bush's administration has ruled out dealing with Mr Arafat, claiming he is tainted with terror against Israel, a US ally. In the peace process, the administration has dealt only with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and senior Palestinian officials appointed by Mr Arafat.

Of the campaign against Mr Bush, Mr Kerry said: "It's not personal. He's an enjoyable person to be with. He's funny and so forth, but he doesn't keep his promises."

In discussing foreign policy, the Massachusetts senator said he could not guarantee that Saddam Hussein would now be out of power in Iraq if he had been president over the past year. Mr Kerry has criticised Mr Bush for not allowing continued UN inspections in Iraq for weapons of mass destruction which Saddam was said to be hiding.

Mr Kerry, who was on the final day of a swing through the four southern states that were due to vote yesterday, said the southhad "changed dramatically" since the last election.

Al Gore, the nominee in 2000 and a native Tennessean, fared poorly in the region, which Mr Kerry said was largely due to Mr Gore's staunch support for gun control. A hunter and gun owner, Mr Kerry said he expected to fare better.